Gryffindor's first Quidditch game of the year was against Hufflepuff, and they won by a landslide. Ramsey caught the Golden Snitch after only thirty minutes, but not before James had time to score six goals; Ramsey claimed that had to be some sort of record for a new player. The team was quickly whisked off the pitch and herded by the rest of the Gryffindors up to their common room for a celebration, but as soon as they reached the castle, James ducked out of the crowd and went to find Peter and Sirius. The three of them had something else to do first.
"You were amazing, mate!" Sirius cried when James reached them. He was waving a Gryffindor pennant above his head.
"That point you scored between the Keeper's legs was so cool!" Peter added. "I can't believe he didn't fall off his broom."
James put his arms around the two of them and directed them towards the hospital wing, so happy he was practically skipping. "That was the most fun I've ever had," he declared.
Sirius gasped. "Even more fun than hexing Snivellus?"
"Even more fun than hexing Snivellus," James confirmed. "Come on; we have to tell Remus."
The three boys rapped loudly against the hospital wing door until Madam Pomfrey pulled it open. "What do you want?" she demanded of them.
"We're here to see Remus," Peter told her.
Pomfrey looked caught off guard. "Remus?" Then her eyes fell on James and narrowed. "You're filthy, boy. Dirt all over your face, wearing those sweaty Quidditch robes…."
"Look, Remus asked for us to visit him," Sirius interrupted her. "Ask him yourself if you don't believe us. Patients are allowed to have visitors, right? Or are you holding them all prisoner here?"
"Of course not," Pomfrey snapped. "Hold on." And she shut the door in their faces to go talk to Remus.
A few minutes later, she returned and reluctantly let the boys inside. "Only for a few minutes," she called after them. "He needs to rest."
James headed straight for the privacy curtain in the back of the wing and pulled it back to find Remus sitting up eagerly in bed, waiting for their news. "So?" he pressed. "Did we win?"
"Of course we won!" said Sirius. "Those yellow badgers were no match for James Fleamont Potter!"
"Oh, thank Merlin!" Although Remus was still very weak, he managed to pull himself to his feet and give James a big celebratory hug. James hugged him back, laughing into his shoulder, then made sure to help Remus back into his bed.
"Ugh," Remus said, pinching shut his nose. "You stink, James."
"That's the stench of champions," James replied proudly. "Blood, sweat and tears!"
"Well, a little shower never hurt anyone," muttered Remus, still holding his nose.
James rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Re; like you wanted to wait for me to take a shower to find out how we did."
"Fair point," Remus admitted. He sat forward. "So, what was the final score?"
"Eighty to three hundred ten," Peter answered. "And James scored six times!"
Remus sighed. "I wish I could've been there," he murmured. "Sorry I missed it, James."
James shook his head. "Last night was the full moon, mate, and you can barely walk. You probably would've frozen to death out there." Sirius and Peter were both bundled up in scarves and jackets against the cold November wind; James wasn't, but diving and swooping around on a broom had kept his body plenty warm.
Remus's stomach growled loudly; Sirius smiled as he sat down on the bed beside him. "You want us to bring you back something from the party? We pre-ordered three baked hams from the house-elves."
"No meat," Remus said firmly. "Unless Pomfrey makes me eat it, I try to go vegetarian for a few days after the moon."
James couldn't imagine giving up meat for even a few days, but he supposed it would be a bit different if he were a werewolf. "Well, what do you want, then? We can sneak something in here tonight once Pomfrey's asleep."
Remus smiled, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes. "What I really want right now, more than anything, is some Honeydukes chocolate."
"Honeydukes," Peter repeated dreamily. "Me, too."
"Well, that's a bit harder to get," Sirius admitted. "But we'll bring you some Gryffindor-colored cake. I'm pretty sure we asked for it to be chocolate flavored."
"That works, too," said Remus, his smile growing. "You guys are great, you know that?"
"Of course we know that," James told him. "And you know what? Next time there's a student trip to Hogsmeade, we're going with them, and we'll buy you a whole stash of Honeydukes chocolate for after the moons. I heard Alyssa Greenleaf bragging before the game about a secret passage into the village."
"There isn't another trip until after the holidays," Sirius said.
"We'll go after the holidays, then! Before the January moon. We can go to the Three Broomsticks too, and try some butterbeers!"
"That sounds fantastic," said Sirius. "I'm definitely in."
"Me too!" added Peter excitedly.
"If it involves Honeydukes, I'm there," Remus murmured. "And I can finally see what the Shrieking Shack looks like from the outside."
"And we can go to Zonko's," Sirius pointed out. James gave him a wicked grin.
Remus sighed. "Please don't tell me you two'll be throwing Dungbombs down all the hallways."
"No promises, Re," James said solemnly. "You're asking too much of us."
"Speaking of Dungbombs," said Sirius, "Frank Longbottom promised to sell me some at the party today. Only two Sickles each."
Remus laughed. "You can go up there now, you know. I'm sure you've been missed, James; you're a Quidditch hero now."
James did want to check out the party, but he hated leaving Remus behind. He gave the other boy a squeeze on the knee. "We'll bring you that cake tonight," he promised. "And any other chocolate we can find."
Remus raised his eyebrows. "I'll hold you to that."
Madam Pomfrey flung back Remus's curtain, glowering down at his visitors. "He needs rest," she said through her teeth. "You can come back tomorrow, but right now you need to leave him be."
"We were just leaving," Sirius said, ruffling Remus's hair. "Bye, mate."
"Bye," Remus called after them as Pomfrey escorted them impatiently out of the hospital wing. "Remember the cake."
